Rocket Man (I Think It's Going To Be A Long, Long Time)
by Winnie Grace
Summary: "War is a universal language [...] It never occurred to me that one might come from above." (Nick Fury); —Part i of the Infinite Endgame series—


_And I think it's gonna be a long long time_  
_'Till touch down brings me round again to find_  
_I'm not the man they think I am at home_  
_Oh no no no I'm a rocket man_  
_Rocket man burning out his fuse up here alone_

-Rocket Man; **by Elton John**

* * *

Mera felt her heart pounding in her chest. Her breathing was shallow, her body was tense. In all honesty, she couldn't believe what she was seeing. How in the _hell_ was any of what happened even possible. Swallowing thickly, Mera leaned forward a little, hoping to get a better look. She was already kneeling, all she had to do was move forward a little to tell if there was any significant damage or, even worse, a possible death. _God_, wouldn't that suck? After everything had gone so smoothly, it gets ruined by some unexplainable incident. It rattled Mera's mind, leaving her with more questions she was comfortable with. It was chaotic.

But of course, if Mera really wanted to understand what was going on, she'd have to think back to the beginning. Back to when the chaos was fresh and new, right when it took over her life.

**-0 0 0 0-**

_SIX MONTHS EARLIER_

It had been a very long day. A very long, very _stressful_, day. Like, the kind of day that hung over like a rain cloud for at least a _month_ before ever leaving. _That_ was the kind of day Mera was having. And, in her opinion, it seemed as though she was having an overwhelmingly large amount of long and stressful days. Mera believed, in her honest opinion, that it all began at least three weeks ago, when her boyfriend _dumped_ her for her cousin. That caused the young woman a great deal of stress and emotional turmoil. Then, only a few days later, Mera's boss put her in charge of a big assignment, which was too much for one person to do alone. Not to mention her mother was diagnosed with pancreatic cancer and her half-sister, Hailee, was not only _pregnant_ but _engaged_ and complaining about every little thing. . .

Mera felt as though her head was about to explode. She had it in her to forget about her ex-boyfriend and her bitch of a cousin. She was struggling with the thought of her mother having cancer. She was losing her patience in Hailee, who couldn't shut up for five minutes on a good day. And she could possibly get her assignment done at her job before her boss had a stroke from how he wanted it all done. But it felt as though it was all piling up on her, the complaints and the reality of how things were, and the unrealistic expectations. No matter how stressful or how _overwhelming_ something was, Mera could overcome it, right? The more optimistic part of her would say yes. That little bit of hope in her would say everything will work itself out and everything will go back to normal! But that large piece of pessimism and frustration thought otherwise. It was all very unnecessary.

"Mera!" The sound of her coworker's voice made the young woman tense. And while some of her coworkers were genuinely good people, a good handful of them really got on her nerves, regardless of her initial thoughts on them. Turning her head slightly, Mera could see the approaching form of Zoey, an older woman and employee. Zoey had been working the same job for over a decade, having no desire to really leave when she devoted so much of her time to what she did.

"Hey, Zoey," Mera said, trying to keep her voice calm. The two women stood by the copying machine, watching it spit out page after page of the reports Mera had done for the quarter. They'd be brought to their boss, who'd look it over, before deciding if they were any good.

A sweet, crinkled smile came across Zoey's face. "I've been meaning to tell you," she exclaimed, "that my daughter just had her baby recently. Did I tell you already?"*

Taking a deep breath, Mera slowly let it out her nose. "I don't think so," she responded. "How'd everything go?"

"Wonderfully!" Zoey clapped her hands together over her chest, looking almost starstruck. "Kollene didn't have any issues with the baby. And it's a boy, can you believe it? She's always wanted a little boy. And it's been so difficult for her, trying to get pregnant. She and her husband have been trying for three years to have a baby, but. . ."

That's where Zoey's words started to fade out. Mera hated the idea of blocking out the rest of the older woman's story, but she just didn't have it in her to listen. Any other day, she'd be more than happy to hear about Kollene's success in having a baby, but today was not a good day. These "not good days" will probably plague her for God knows how long.

". . .and I think it's sweet, don't you?" Zoey asked.

Mera's gaze quickly went over to the older woman, her brows furrowing for a moment. The question itself caught her off guard, especially since she hadn't paid attention to a majority of the conversation.

"Uhm, yeah," Mera murmured absently. "It's really sweet."

Frowning, Zoey studied the younger redhead for a moment. The dismissive response seemed so out of character, in Zoey's opinion. Mera was usually so involved when people talked to her, having so much to say and having so many questions. But having such an absentminded response? To behave in an almost uncaring manner? It was odd, almost concerning.

"Are you okay?" Zoey asked. "Is there something wrong?"

"I've been having a rough time lately." Mera had tried for a reassuring smile, but it looked more like a grimace. "I'm still trying to figure some things out."

"Oh, well I'm sorry." Taking a step back, the older woman clasped her hands in front of her. Her brows furrowed, her lips pursing. "You should've just told me and I would've left you alone."

"Don't worry about it okay?" Mera sighed. "I don't really want to make a big deal out of it."

Nodding, Zoey gave a small sympathetic smile. "Well if you need someone to talk to, don't hesitate to come to me," she responded. "I'll always lend an ear."

Smiling in return, Mera gave a curt nod. "Thank you," she said. "I'll keep that in mind."

* * *

**(A/N):**

**First off, sorry for the wait on this chapter. I let time get away from me, but hopefully you guys can enjoy what I've got so far. Other than that, leave constructive criticism if you'd like. I'd love to know how I can improve my writing/my story. Besides, I feel it's important for you guys to tell me what's bothering you about my story, like any inconsistencies or whatever.* So yeah. Constructive criticism is important.**

**Do I own anything in the MCU? No. No I don't. All I own are my OCs, my subplots, and the bed I sleep on. If you've got ideas for OCs or subplots, be sure to PM me or leave a review. I'll add them in as soon as possible.**

**Also, a good number of chapters will be flashbacks. The flashback chapters will kind of tell what happened leading up to the beginning portion of this chapter. If that makes any sense. I don't know.**

**Leave a random fact in the reviews if you want.**

**Peace out!**

**Winnie Grace**


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